FREE real estate at Elizabeth Marina may sound too good to be true for Islanders currently dealing with a housing crisis, but “living sea walls” are due to provide new homes for sea anemones and starfish.
Ports of Jersey has already started to install eight specially-designed, 3D-printed tiles – which will replicate the nooks and crannies that occur naturally on rocky seashores – to the walls.
Students from Jersey College for Girls and Les Quennevais were involved in the early stages of the project, which is designed to increase the ecological value of the marina.
The government arm’s-length organisation said it expected the seawall tiles to be colonised by different types of invertebrates, such as sea anemones and star fish, as well as various seaweeds.
They may also provide habitats for small fish such as gobies and blennies.
Louise Stafford, head of maritime operations, who has been running the project, said: “We have installed eight tiles as a pilot project to see how well they attract sea creatures.
“We have chosen three different designs which mimic the features of natural rocky shorelines, increase the area available for species colonisation, and provide refuge from predators.”
Produced by UK-based company Inland and Coastal, the tiles are made of glass fibre reinforced concrete, generally using waste material from marina structures.
